"We found enough body parts and three pairs of empty shoes which suggest to us that the lions ate at least three of them but it is thick bush and there could be more," owner Nick Fox told the Daily Mail. "They came heavily armed with hunting rifles and axes which we have recovered and enough food to last them for several days so we suspect they were after all of our rhinos here."

"But the lions are our watchers and guardians and they picked the wrong pride and became a meal," Fox added. "Whilst we are saddened at any loss of life the poachers came here to kill our animals and this sends out a very clear message to any other poachers that you will not always be the winner."

Local police spokeswoman Captain Mali Govender said authorities were working to find out how many people were killed and that the firearms recovered "will be sent to the ballistics laboratory to see if they have been used in poaching before."

In addition to rhinos and lions, the reserve is home to elephants, buffalo and leopards. The reserve lost three rhinos to poachers in 2016. At least nine rhinos have been killed by poachers on the Eastern Cape this year.

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